Product Code: PIC2008_M1103

Flash Lamp Curing of Nano-Particulates for Passive Device Fabrication (Invited Paper)
Authors:
James Sears, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Jeffery West, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Michael Carter, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology; Rapid City SD USA
Presented at PICALO 2008

Photonic Curing is being developed to cure or sinter metal nano-particle based films by exposing them to a brief, intense pulse of light from a xenon flash lamp. This photonic curing technology allows for rapid and selective heating that fuses nano-scale metallic ink particles into functional components. This technology allows the curing or sintering of nanoscale metallic ink patterns on low-temperature substrates including flexible circuit boards, flat panel displays, interconnects, RFID tags, and other disposable electronics without the use of heat. This paper reports on the results obtained after sintering conductive, magnetic, and dielectric nano-particle inks. Sintering was performed with the photonic curing technique developed by NovaCentrix, 2W frequency doubled Nd:YAG CW laser, and a conventional muffle furnace. Sample thickness, micro-structural details, resistivity, and sintering characteristics are also examined and compared for the three sintering techniques.